That is normal, right?

So I'm the younger of my parents' two children. I have a older brother and, for the most part, the way we interacted in childhood was pretty normal. I would hide his stuff and get him in trouble for losing it and he'd try to cut off my extremities, shove me down the stairs, and sing The Way by Fastball in my general direction. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the last one is the one that traumatized me the most. I hate that song.

My brother was always the one that had to have the biggest new TV or the surroundiest new sound system or the shiniest new console, while I was always pretty content with a hand-me-down computer and access to the internet. The laptop I'm typing on now is actually the first computer I've ever had that was bought specifically for me (and it's refurbished so I'm still not the first one to own it). My brother always seemed to take up most of the Christmas budget, so I sort of took it on myself to be less demanding. I saved up more money so I could buy my own things (ah, Pokemon Silver release day. I still remember you fondly), and I know I lent money to my brother on more than one occasion. It seems a little counter-intuitive from the typical younger sibling stereotype, but it makes sense with how my childhood happened. I've always been ridiculously frugal, and birth order probably had to do with why.

My brother on the other hand, never really seemed to fit into the archetype of older brother. He was never responsible (even when I wasn't hiding his things), and continued to set a low bar that was pretty easy for me to clear. I remember a few times where the two of us were left alone in the house and I was the one in charge of watching over him. He moved out when he was 15 (I was 11) to live with our grandparents, and continued to make poor decisions in Michigan. His grades weren't great, and, most spectacularly, he got his girlfriend pregnant, twice. I never felt much pressure to be better than he was because I figured if I didn't get pregnant by the age of 17 (which I did not), I pretty much won. 

This put me in an odd position. I was a younger sibling, technically, but as far as my parents were concerned, I was really the only one they had to take care of. My mom says that she was never concerned for my grades or my success as much as she was for my well-being and that I didn't need parenting as much as I needed hugs. I guess I spent so much time not being the problem child that I learned how to fend for myself. I generally came home to an empty house so I had to become pretty self-sufficient and responsible in ways my brother still hasn't gotten the hang of.

I do think the part you play when growing up makes a big difference in who you end up being, but I think that birth order isn't always the only thing that determines your role. I almost wonder if it's not who's born first but who gets the most attention that determines the kind of traits you end up with. I mean, I generally get along better with older siblings and I think a lot of that comes from that idea of having to look out for yourself and the other kids around you. Either way, I think I turned out alright.